settling back in October 16, 2013

7,000 miles. That’s roughly how far I’ve traveled between posts. It’s been an amazing time – what seems like an endless session of most-perfect-days-ever. Two weddings to attend, our honeymoon to get to and, yes, a wedding of our own. All of which I’ll be sharing here on the blog soon – I got a new camera as a wedding gift from my husband (!!!) and it was a huge treat to be able to take it on our epic cross country (and multi-country) journey and have the time to use it.

Walking back in the house earlier this week after being gone for seven straight days, I’m ready to get settled back in. Right now, that means cooking at home, working on some personal creative projects, and traveling a bit more for work. The food and wine we’ve consumed the last three weeks has been nothing short of stupendous…but I’m also looking forward to eating a little cleaner and a little more simply.

This salad was something I made my first day back in the kitchen – something easy to nosh on while I start unpacking suitcases and sorting through the thousands of photos we took. It was so tasty that I just wanted to get here and give you the recipe. This is great served at room temperature and it’s vegan…so if it sits out for a bit (while you go back and eat a spoonful of it here or there), there’s no cheese or dairy to get funky. I kept it simple and added some scallion for sharpness and celery for crunch – and I’m a sucker for celery leaves – but add whatever you think works here: some tiny diced sweet peppers, toasted pepitas or some fresh cilantro.

Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Lentil Salad – serves 2 as an ample main course salad or 4 as a side dish

1 large sweet potato – peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil – divided

kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

a dash of smoked paprika

2 cups black lentils – you can substitute brown lentils if you’d like

2 scallions – white and green parts thinly sliced

1 large stalk of celery – diced and leaves reserved (if your celery comes with the leaves still on!)

1 tbsp. honey or light agave nectar

juice of 1 medium lemon

– Preheat the oven to 350F. In a roasting pan or baking sheet, toss the cubed sweet potato together with 1 tbsp. of olive oil, a bit of salt and pepper and the dash of smoked paprika. Roast until tender and slightly caramelized – for me, this was 25 minutes. Once roasted, allow to cool to room temperature.

– While the sweet potatoes roast, cook your lentils. In a medium pot with a lid, combine the 2 cups of black lentils with 3 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil for 2 to 3 minutes then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until tender but NOT soft. For me (this depends on the age of your lentils and the oomph your burner has), this was 25 minutes. Drain into a fine mesh colander and allow to cool to room temperature.

– To assemble the salad: In a large mixing bowl, combine the lentils, sweet potatoes, chopped scallions, diced celery and celery leaves (if using). Once combined, drizzle over the remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil & honey and squeeze the lemon juice into the bowl. Combine well to make sure everything get dressed. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. This salad is great at room temperature but can be kept overnight and brought back to room temp to serve.